By Katie Ladner L.E. and Natalie Ledbetter DAcOM
Katie:
I’ve been very blessed to find out that there has been such a great response to the blog post I wrote about the parasite cleanse so I thought I would follow up and answer some questions that I did not address in the original blog post.
So let’s get started my beauties!
I did have a great response from my body doing it for 20 days. On the directions it does say 10 days or 30 days. As I said in the previous article at day 19 I started to get more die off symptoms again so I continued it until those die of symptoms subsided. Even though this wasn’t in the directions I just went with it for my body.
I’ve been asked did you change your diet?
The answer is no I did not. But what I will tell you is I live gluten-free, dairy free and lectin free with a very little sugar if any at all. Parasites tend to feed on sugar, complex carbs, and dairy. All those foods are also very inflammatory as well so that’s why I have cut them out of my diet. I would suggest modifying your diet by taking out the foods that parasites like to feed on.
Lastly I’d like to address if I would ever do it again. Yes I will always deworm myself on a quarterly or bi-yearly basis. The reason being is we come across things in every day life that could give us parasites. Having dogs, eating raw foods, eating sushi, flies landing on your food, etc. can cause you to get parasites. I’d rather be ahead of the game instead of waiting on the sidelines to feel sick again.
“Do I have a parasite?” you might wonder. Do you eat pork? Do you eat sushi? Have you traveled outside of the country or been swimming in murky water? These activities carry an increased risk of parasite infestation. Pork carries parasites and worms in the meat so it is extremely important to eat pork that has been well cooked. Even then the risk still remains. Sushi is another food item that carries an increased risk for obtaining parasites.
If you’re interested in doing a parasite cleanse it is very important to follow a strict anti parasite diet like Katie did while doing the cleanse. Your diet must be free of all sugar, including fruit, and free of all grains. Dairy contains milk sugars and is inflammatory so no dairy either. (Sigh) It is best to follow the diet and take the cleansing herbs for 2 weeks on and then take a break for a week before resuming the diet and the cleanse for an additional 2 weeks. You can remain on the diet during the one week break and in fact that is highly recommended.
Pumpkin seeds help to kill off parasites so it is recommended that you add pumpkin seeds to your diet. Herbs and supplements that help to kill off parasites include oregano oil, grapeseed extract, black walnut, wormwood, and olive leaf.
If you have a health issue it is important to see your physician before undertaking a parasite cleanse. It can be difficult on your body and you can feel crappy for the 1st 3 days of the protocol. Even if you are perfectly healthy, you can expect to feel yucky for a few days as the parasites begin to die off.
Many Western medical doctors do not necessarily believe in an herbal parasite cleanse so if you would like help with a cleanse program it might be good to contact a functional medicine practitioner or an alternative health practitioner.
Good luck and happy cleansing!